Group Constitution

NAME
The name of the Group shall be: Wherwell History Group

OBJECTIVES
The principal objective of the Group shall be:

To research, record and preserve the history of the parishes of Wherwell and Chilbolton, Hampshire.

In furtherance of the said objective the Group will:

1.     Stimulate and maintain public interest in local history.

2.     Record material which is currently in private possession, by either asking for custody of originals or making / keeping copies of originals

3.     Maintain an archive of sound recordings of past and present residents

4.     Work closely with Hampshire Record Office and other similar bodies for the purposes of local history research, and where appropriate add to existing archive material or use their facilities for the safe storage of important original material.

5.     Publish papers, reports and other literature.

6.     Focus primarily on the parishes of Wherwell and Chilbolton, but include neighbouring parishes where appropriate to the breadth of the subject matter.

MANAGEMENT
a)     Day-to-day running of the Group shall be by a Committee of Ordinary Members, hereinafter called the Management Committee and comprising Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and four additional elected Members; one of whom may be appointed by the Management Committee to be Vice-Chairman.

b)     The Management Committee have authority to co-opt up to three Members to serve until the next Annual General Meeting.

c)     The Officers and other members of the Management Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and each Officer shall be properly proposed and seconded before election.

d)     Persons can be elected unopposed, or by vote or ballot if more nominations have been received than there exists vacancies.

e)     The Management Committee may appoint and dissolve working groups as it sees fit which will facilitate the Objectives of the Group.

f)      The Management Committee may make such rules as it sees fit which will facilitate the Objectives of the Group.

g)     Meetings of the Management Committee must be minuted and must be held at least four times between successive Annual General Meetings.

MEMBERSHIP
a)     Ordinary Members: Subject to the discretion of the Management Committee, a person shall be considered a Member upon the timely receipt by the Treasurer of a subscription.  New Members will be given a copy of this Constitution on request.

b)     Honorary Members:  A person may be given Honorary membership in recognition of either outstanding service as an Ordinary Member or exceptional practical qualities or abilities in support of the Objectives of the Group. An Honorary Member will not be required to pay the annual subscription. There shall be no more than six Honorary Members at any one time.

SUBSCRIPTIONS
There will be an annual subscription for all Ordinary Members, at a rate to be confirmed at each Annual General Meeting.   Membership will automatically lapse when a member’s subscription remains overdue for 6 months.

BANKING
The Management Committee is authorised to open and maintain a bank account in the name of the Group, for which there must be a minimum of two and a maximum of four approved signatories. All signatories will be given online access to view the bank account. Where possible, online transactions and cheque book transactions should be dealt with by the Treasurer, or by the Chairman in exceptional circumstances.

MEETINGS
Subject to the discretion of the Management Committee, the Group will arrange open meetings which will promote and enhance interest in and understanding of local history. Where appropriate, attendees will be asked to pay an entrance fee, which may be at a reduced rate for Members.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting shall be held at one of the Members’ Meetings within six months of the end of the accounting year. It shall be an open meeting, but only paid-up members shall be eligible to vote. The date of the meeting shall be published in the Wherwell and Chilbolton Community Magazine and sent to Members via email or post.

The business of the Annual General Meeting shall include:

a)     A report of the Group’s activities for the year

b)     Outline plans for the coming year

c)     Election of Officers and other members of the Management Committee

d)     Accounts of the finance and membership of the Group which have been duly scrutinised by an Independent Examiner

e)     Appointment of an Independent Examiner for the coming year

f)      Consideration of matters submitted jointly by two Members in the form of a written resolution, which has been received by the Secretary at least 7 calendar days before the meeting.

g)     Consideration of any proposed changes to this Constitution which must be included in the notice of the Annual General Meeting.

ACCOUNTING YEAR
The accounting year of the Group shall start on the 1st January and extend until the following 31st December, to which date the accounts shall be prepared.

EXPENSES
Reasonable expenses and fees shall be paid from available Group funds, provided that vouchers and/or signatures are produced. No expenditure by a person who is not a member of the Management Committee or which is greater than £50 can be made without prior approval by the Management Committee.

SCRUTINY OF ACCOUNTS
Accounts are to be examined annually by an Independent Examiner prior to their presentation at the Annual General Meeting and a signed record of the scrutiny shall be available to all members.

EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
Any ten Members may request the Management Committee by notice in writing to the Secretary to arrange an Extraordinary General Meeting within thirty days.

QUORA
a)     The quorum for the Annual General Meeting shall be not less than fifteen Members or ten per cent of the current membership, whichever number is the lesser.

b)     The quorum for the Extraordinary General Meeting shall be not less than fifteen Members or ten per cent of the current membership, whichever number is the lesser.

c)     The quorum for Management Committee Meetings shall be four which must include at least two Officers of the Group.

Decisions at all meetings shall be by simple majority of those Members present and entitled to vote, except that alterations to this Constitution require approval by a two-thirds majority. In the event of a tie, the Chairman of the meeting shall have the casting vote. An Ordinary Member is not entitled to vote if his subscription is in arrears.

DISSOLUTION
If the Management Committee by a simple majority decide at any time that on grounds of expense or otherwise it is necessary or advisable to dissolve the Group, it shall call an Extraordinary General Meeting of all the members, giving them at least twenty-one days notice and stating the terms of the resolution to be proposed at the meeting.  If such a decision shall be approved by a two-thirds majority of members voting at the meeting, the Management Committee shall have the power to dispose of any assets remaining after the satisfaction of any proper debts and liabilities. Any financial surplus shall be applied towards charitable purposes for the benefit of the Parishes of Wherwell and Chilbolton in such detail as the Management Committee may decide. Any material assets shall be offered to the original owner or the Hampshire Record Office or other Groups in the county of Hampshire which have objectives similar to this Group.

This document (Version 2023.1) was adopted as the Constitution of the Wherwell History Group at an Extraordinary General Meeting held at Chilbolton Village Hall on 16th June 2023